Custom IEM's being discontinued?

[J.4knee]

I just looked on the "Klipsch Store" and noticed none of the custom
line of IEM's are available for purchase. Wondering of Klipsch is
discontinuing them?

[Amy]

Yes, they are being phased out so we can usher in new models.

Lots of good deals to be found on the internet! As always, make sure you purchase from an authorized dealer. []

[BLSamuel]

Yes, they are being phased out so we can usher in new models.

That'd explain why P Thump is travellin'

[J.4knee]

Yes, they are being phased out so we can usher in new models.

Lots of good deals to be found on the internet! As always, make sure you purchase from an authorized dealer.

So is that Klispch' way of saying your right the cables were lousy afterall but we don't want to replace the ones we sold.

[tidmack]

Amy,

Will the warranty on our Custom line phones be honored with an iem of equal sound quality? Or will our existing phones be fixed?

Jeff

[jleewach]

That's a shame. W/ the exception of the cable drama, I've always had a spot in my heart for the Customs (I've purchased all three and they were one of the first respectable iem's I had. They definitely have one of my favorite designs.

As a side note, has anyone ever established if some kind of cable manufacturing change took place over the lifespan of the custom line? I recently picked up a pair of Custom 3's at an authorized dealer, and suprisingly, it has a very nice, soft cloth cable, free of kinks, and nowhere near as stiff & tangle prone as the previous Custom models I've purchased. Seriously, I have 2 pairs sitting here side by side, and the cables feel nothing alike. My custom 2's cable is extremely stiff, hard to bend & full of kinks, while these Custom 3's seem to have a fabulous cable.

[Amy]

Amy,

Will the warranty on our Custom line phones be honored with an iem of equal sound quality? Or will our existing phones be fixed?

Jeff

We will honor the 2 year warranty with the inventory we have. If there comes a time where we can no longer replace damaged headphones, I'm sure customer service will have a solution.

[Amy]

So is that Klispch' way of saying your right the cables were lousy afterall but we don't want to replace the ones we sold.

No, I don't believe we are saying that. Professor Thump can chime in with any cable issue / engineering changes that were made during the life of the product.

The decision to discontinue the Custom line was likely due to performance in the marketplace. Also, many people I've talked to about them had issues getting a good fit (seal) with the design, which in turn led them to believe the sound was inferior to other products. It was a difficult product to demo and train people on how to use properly.

That's how I understand it. Obviously I'm not involved in these decisions.

[jleewach]

So is that Klispch' way of saying your right the cables were lousy afterall but we don't want to replace the ones we sold.

Come on man, that really isn't a fair statement. I agree there have been problems w/ the cabling on this specific model, but I don't believe the company has ever been unwilling to help out a customer that faced the problem. Companies discontinue models all the time. It doesn't mean they're trying to screw you.

[Stocklone]

I noticed this too. I am on my 3rd pair under my warranty. (See they honor their warranties ) I have a feeling these will break too eventually. I was quite tempted to buy another pair off of amazon for cheap. But since they are going to do a new line, I will just buy those when the time comes. I hope that the new line has over the ear hooks. I love the hooks. It's makes them so convenient to wear them at work all day with occasional conversations.

I am pretty excited about the news. I will miss my custom-2's when they bite the dust. Until then I am babying the heck out of them.

[TheEAR]

I have the Custom 3 ,the top of the line in this series. Sound quality is very very good,it is unfortunate you have to work to get a good seal but once it is achieved..they sound GREAT.As with all in ear a goodseal is a must to judge the SQ.

I have the Custom 3, X10's and Image S4. Klipsch has surprised me with the SQ of these tiny headphones. Overall above average among competition, the UE11's are clearly better but at over $1200(with shipping) plus the fee for the ear molds...they better be.

Also of note I found the built quality of the Custom 3 to be very good, try the Shure 530's...these use lousy quality cables,make the Klipsch look like gold.

[J.4knee]

Part of the problem is these IEM's have taken somwhat of a bettering on
internet forums over their cable issues and I suspect that has swayed potential customers away.
IMO if Klipsch just used better cables these things would be the bee's
knee's. The sound is incredible much better than their price model
competitors. I mean I really love the sound of my C3's but the ridiculous
cable kinking is beyond frustrating. I think what irritates me the most
is the fact they were kinked right out of the box and Klipsch blamed the
kinking on customer handling errors and skin oils! Seems it was an
easy fix early on, but now we will just have to wait and see what their
replacements are going to be, but to me this was a salvageable problem.

[Nhusker]

Will there be new Image models as well?

[BLSamuel]

As a side note, has anyone ever established if some kind of cable manufacturing change took place over the lifespan of the custom line? I recently picked up a pair of Custom 3's at an authorized dealer, and suprisingly, it has a very nice, soft cloth cable, free of kinks, and nowhere near as stiff & tangle prone as the previous Custom models I've purchased. Seriously, I have 2 pairs sitting here side by side, and the cables feel nothing alike. My custom 2's cable is extremely stiff, hard to bend & full of kinks, while these Custom 3's seem to have a fabulous cable.

No cable change that I'm aware of.

I ordered a pair of Custom 2 directly from Klipsch as soon as the first went on sale on-line. Maybe even the night before they officially went on sale. Having tried primarily the IMAGE as the Image X10 was originally called and I think very quickly a Custom 1 prototype. I think the Custom 3 prototype was um very fragile looking at best. I'm not sure there was a Custom 2 prototype at that time? I really don't remember. I was rather enamored with the IMAGE prototype. Though at that time I don't think they had a name? That was what, June 2007? Hit the market November 2007? Just couldn't justify the IMAGE but had to have some. The Custom 2 a pretty good compromise.

Back on track. Very early production Custom 2. Used them most work days and some while painting soccer lines and yes was very carefull with them but very nice smooth no kink cloth covered cable. Still in great shape though after about 13 months of use I got a set of Image X10 and primarily use those though the Custom 2 still see quite a bit of use by dauther on long road trips or even trips of a couple of hours before her ear surgery. The Image X10 cable smooth and kink free. Still is though the strain relief on each side are splitting.... [:'(]

I don't think Klipsch was blaming the customers for their skin oil causing problems just that it could cause the problem.. So maybe a few made it out of the factory bad and past QC? And did anyone with bad, stiff, kinked cables out of the box ever contact Klipsch and send them in right away? That said I think a few posted here maybe even a couple of photos? I've got the impression they loved the sound and kept them anyway? Don't really know the full story as several people on 3rd pair so there's a few problems.

Another potential problem with manufacturing in China. Copyrights, trademarks, patents are pretty much ignored and not enforced is my understanding having spoken with a friend who had been on a couple of business trips to China.

Not saying any counterfeiting is going on. I think this would only be a possiblility if the armatures were made in china that there's a small chance that they could be counterfeit but countereit as the real armatures being used but not by Klipsch. The cases might also be extremely hard to copy. Cables not so hard to counterfeit appearance wise at least. Not very likely in this case but ya gotta wonder. And the Custom 3 extremely hard to assemble the very tiny armatures with very tiny crossover they'd had to get those guts directly from the Klipsch plant so just too unlikely for the Klipsch 'phones to be copied. . Now if you're talkin' designer shirts. Many counterfeits readily available.

So I have a theory (the above just seems too improbable due to the complexity of the components involved). Maybe some skin oil or some foreign substance or just bad cable got used and somehow got past quality control though that also seems improbable but at least a few people got 'phones with kinked stiff cables out of the box. I would say maybe even too much of the wrong perfume but then would think um would have an odor. Maybe some residue of cleaning solution / solvent used to clean the assembly packaging area? A replacable cable would be nice but would seem very difficult with the Image X10 and even X5 due to their small size. Still a challenge with the Custom models though much less difficult.

It's way past my bedtime so a lot of the above just crazy not likely scenarios but somethings going on with the kinked cables though it's hard to tell what percentage of the 'phones developed the problem. Maybe a few are randomly tested and the tester have the strange skin oil?

[Professor Thump]

So is that Klispch' way of saying your right the cables were lousy afterall but we don't want to replace the ones we sold.

No, I don't believe we are saying that. Professor Thump can chime in with any cable issue / engineering changes that were made during the life of the product.

The decision to discontinue the Custom line was likely due to performance in the marketplace. Also, many people I've talked to about them had issues getting a good fit (seal) with the design, which in turn led them to believe the sound was inferior to other products. It was a difficult product to demo and train people on how to use properly.

That's how I understand it. Obviously I'm not involved in these decisions.

The Custom line was our first designs to go to market. That being said it is a tragic success story that was not adopted by the public. There were both pros and cons to the line. Custom 3 is by far my favorite product to use. It fits me well, is secure to wear and sounds as it should. IMHO... That being said there are issues with fit for a small portion of the populus and the application to wear is complicated for some. Getting the fit story out is not easy, when you don't have a fan base that uses the product. That can't be said now because we have a huge fan base due to S4 popularity. As far as cables, I have never had an issue with the cables but some have. Was there a bad batch that went out? I don't know. It is possible. The combination of little publicity on this product and the complications of the design have made Klipsch disinterested in selling the product. Who knows... maybe some day C3 will come back as a heritage product. That would be my wish.

[a13x]

Can you provide any info on the Custom series' successor? []

[BLSamuel]

So is that Klispch' way of saying your right the cables were lousy afterall but we don't want to replace the ones we sold.

No, I don't believe we are saying that. Professor Thump can chime in with any cable issue / engineering changes that were made during the life of the product.

The decision to discontinue the Custom line was likely due to performance in the marketplace. Also, many people I've talked to about them had issues getting a good fit (seal) with the design, which in turn led them to believe the sound was inferior to other products. It was a difficult product to demo and train people on how to use properly.

That's how I understand it. Obviously I'm not involved in these decisions.

The Custom line was our first designs to go to market. That being said it is a tragic success story that was not adopted by the public. There were both pros and cons to the line. Custom 3 is by far my favorite product to use. It fits me well, is secure to wear and sounds as it should. IMHO... That being said there are issues with fit for a small portion of the populus and the application to wear is complicated for some. Getting the fit story out is not easy, when you don't have a fan base that uses the product. That can't be said now because we have a huge fan base due to S4 popularity. As far as cables, I have never had an issue with the cables but some have. Was there a bad batch that went out? I don't know. It is possible. The combination of little publicity on this product and the complications of the design have made Klispch disinterested in selling the product. Who knows... maybe some day C3 will come back as a heritage product. That would be my wish.

It's too bad the Custom models have died. I would hope that they can be brought to market again. I've owned the Custom 2 since they first hit the market and used quite a bit for over a year with no cable issues (yes, it did take me a loooonng time to get the seal right but really good to begin with and incredibly good once I figure out the seal thing... ) but I'm not sure I've used them since I got the Image X10. I'd think the over the ear wire would be very useful for high stress uses such as exercising. I do miss the ability to leave them loose without a seal when someone comes up to my desk at work to talk which is where I used my Custom 2 and use Image X10 the most.

As far as the Custom 3, I finally got around to trying a pair last summer and the sound is incredible... better sound quality than the Image X10 (if that's possible) and the Image X10 sound incredible. I prefer the sound of the Image X5 over the sound of the Image X10....

Maybe we should stage a write in campaign. I'd think it wouldn't cost that much to keep producing the Custom models now that all the development and tooling has been set up. Maybe not a money maker but could catch on once the word gets out how darn good they are. Maybe the Image S4 and S2 models will do well enough to allow the Custom models to be brought back. Or at least the Custom 3.

[Technocrafts]

MO the market segment of the higher end audio gear is suffering right now due to the recession. The s-4 plugs are cheap to make, priced just right and perform incredibly well in their class. I owned both, the Custom-2 which sounded a bit too bright for my taste and the Custom-3 that I adored. Unfortunately I lost the C3 or they got stolen, so all I have now is great memories with them. The s-4 justified the price for casual listening, but for serious audition I can't settle for less than the C3. While I tested many higher end portable audio gear including headphones such as the Sennheiser hd-600, I found the C3 very unique. So unique in fact, that they were or still are king of all dual drivers, the equivalent of the UE triple.fi pro of the triple driver segment. I have the feeling we will see and hear a Klipsch triple driver very soon...(careful what you wish for...)

[AuD]

I don't understand why some folks want more drivers, when the emphassis should be placed on a full range driver with fantastic sound quality. This would theoritically decrease costs & keep the housing small. I prefer the x5 over the x10 too.

[Technocrafts]

Exactly the point: full range, balanced sound, good sound stage. With a single driver design you will never get all that in a true sense, something has to give. Did you tried the custom3? How about Shure se-530 or the UE Triple.fi 10 pro? Better yet, the true three way Westone-3?(That one unfortunately I did not have a chance to test drive yet).

Once you get to try any of those with a decent portable player that supports FLAC or Apple Lossless, than you will hear the difference. Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to suggest that the image series are inferior design, far from it, in fact the image x-10 may be the best single driver iem on the market, unchallenged since it hit the shelf. Few others exist that can match their comfort.